Recipe: Savory Chive and Sharp Cheddar Cheese Scones (2024)

FAQs

What is the trick in making good scones? ›

Keep the dough cool: As previously mentioned, it's crucial to keep the dough cold so that the butter doesn't melt before the scones are baked. With chilled dough, you'll have pockets of butter in the dough (this is a good thing!) that create a super-flaky, oh-so-delicious end result.

The explanation is simple: As with other doughs, including pizza dough, resting lets scone dough's gluten relax completely, so that it doesn't snap back during shaping or baking.

Use all-purpose flour for a higher rising scone that holds its shape nicely, both in and out of the oven. To make more delicate, lower-rising, cake-like scones, substitute cake flour for all-purpose flour. Reduce the liquid in the recipe by 1 to 2 tablespoons, using just enough to bring the dough together.

Butter, marmite, more cheese all work well. Or treat your scone like a mini sandwich with added ham, smoked salmon and cream cheese etc.

The traditional English scones served with our High teas are round, not triangular, and they're served with jam and clotted cream.

Crème fraîche can be used as a clotted cream substitute as a topping for fruit and baked goods as it has a similar thickness and creaminess to that of clotted cream. But considering crème fraîche's more tangy, sour flavour, it will be a better fit for some recipes than others.

Heavy Cream or Buttermilk: For the best tasting pastries, stick with a thick liquid such as heavy cream or buttermilk. I usually use heavy cream, but if you want a slightly tangy flavor, use buttermilk.

Why do my cheese scones not rise? ›

If the dough is too dry, the scones won't rise and will be crumbly. On the other hand, if the scones are too wet, they won't rise either, and will be too tough and chewy once baked. Don't hesitate to tweak the amounts and proportions to get the right texture.

Not chilling the dough before baking: to really ace your scones, it helps to chill your dough again before it's baked. Using cold ingredients does help, but your hands will warm up the dough when you're working with it and the extra step of chilling will help you get the best result.

For example, if you substitute oil for butter or margarine, you can significantly reduce the amount of saturated fat in your baked goods. This streamlined recipe for Light Scones uses just 3 tablespoons of canola oil, which contains a fraction of the saturated fat found in butter or margarine.

My scones have a dense, heavy texture and poor volume

You may have used too little raising agent or over handled the dough before it was baked. The oven may have been too cool.

Why should you stir batter for scones with a knife and not a spoon? You aren't stirring it, you're cutting the butter into the flour to coat, or shorten, the gluten strands with fat. This makes your scones tender.

Some common reasons for dense scones are not using enough baking powder, overworking the dough and not baking with the oven at the correct temperature.

Recipes for scones sometimes provide a make-ahead option that involves refrigerating the dough overnight so it can simply be shaped and then popped into the oven the next day. But now we've found that resting the dough overnight has another benefit: It makes for more symmetrical and attractive pastries.

Try placing your scones closer together on the tray as this forces them to rise upwards and not outwards.